rolling playoffs thread

http://www.nba.com/media/cavaliers/playoffs_story_060420_05.jpg

that's a playoff game. great fan turn out!

"Bullets"

anyway i'm hoping the sixers can pull of one win in this series-- preferably at home. the rest of the east first round is basically meaningless excpet for the first celtics home game where KG will probably have a seizure at some point

really hoping for SA-PHX first round matchup

predirktions

east
BOS-atl in 4
CLE-was in 6
ORL-tor in 5
DET-phi in 5

(obvious, but it's the fucking east)

west
LAL-den in 6
no-DAL in 7
SAS-pho in 7 (almost don't want to pick for fear of jinxing, not feeling the spurs and manu's injury and shit, and suns are hungry, pissed abt last year and years past etc)
UTA-hou in 5

man i like phoenix a lot this year. besides the whole revenge thing i think the series going 6-7 really benefits them. i mean if shaq can really body duncan and make him work the whole series i could kinda see amare totally dominating game 6 or 7.

i like the hornets a lot too and i think paul will really stomp out kidd, but idk this last month dirk has played like a dude who refuses to lose in the first round again. i would be kind of stunned in a way if the mavs lost that series to be honest.

lakers will smash and who cares about houston and utah

boston in 4
cleveland in 5
orlando in 5
detroit in 6
LA in 4
dallas in 7
phoenix in 7
utah in 6

boston in 4
wizards in 7
orlando in 7
detroit in 4
LA in 5
hornets in 6
phoenix in 6
utah in 5

think i overrated philly
they win one max

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/images/avatars/maxheadroom.gif

SA over PHX in 7 (don't really know about this one. i maybe see ginobili taking over like never before)
NO over DAL in 7 (dallas looks alright lately!!)
UT over HOU in 4 (houston's good vibes + teamwork formula wore off)
LA over DEN in 6 (melo's dui jumpstarts the nugz to a pair of inspiring victories!!!)

in the east anybody but boston plz

my overall west ranks:

1. l.a. (most talent and kobe. but bigs are hurt?? and a lot of young guys.)

2. utah (awesome disciplined varied offense. slow bigs can't guard anyone. wild card: jerry sloan has 20 years of precedent w/the refs and the league, which lets them play physical as fuck at home.)

3. s.a. (dont count em out)

4. phx (good clean fun, but these are suddenly some old ass, brittle dudes) (amare is very good)

5. new orleans (too young right now. all jumpshooters except paul.) (lol and bonzi)

6. dallas (lots of tested warriors, lots of isolation basketball, lots of avery)

7. denver (random collection of 'names' assembled like an 8th grader playing nba live 04) (george karl has never done shit in the playoffs) (blow it up after first round loss)

8. houston (not much talent overall, cautious tmac isn't scary) (what do they do with yao in teh future??)

top four could all win it.

damn homie

im a spurs hater but that was some shit from TIMMY right there

This game is bonkers.

For some crazy ass reason they cut to commercials @ 2:00 to 1:10?!?!? Stupid local ABC affiliate.

this series is serious

serieous

fuck a double ot

fucking how come ginoblli is just allowed to travel

maybe not a good sign for the series that spurs are 2/2 on set plays to tie the game and suns are 0/2 on set plays to win

lol home referee advantage

why the spurs win every playoff series i guess

xp to myself

hahahaha stupid frenchman

i kind of found myself rooting for the spurs and then they showed bowen

"OMG NASH MISSED OH MY" <3 van gundy

aaaah SHAQ

omg diaw take it strong aarrrrggggg

so demoralizing if suns lose

tim duncan 3 lolololol

that was a true queen move by duncan

that 3

OMG

gay

FUCKFUCKFUCK I HATE SA SO MUCH ARHJGRGRHGRGHERGPIHDFGIJODFGPO ZDFB

ginobaldy

manu?

ayo i think this series is over real talk

not over but you know i think the spurs will def win. suns can't lose games like this

suns defensive strategy: leave duncan open for 3's and give total lane access to ginobli

fabulous ending

love Duncan in the interview: "were you confident on the 3?" "uhhhh.....(laugh)"

yup totally gay ending

okay that whole game was just o_O and that's all I have to add.

haha haterrrrrrs

That game was a fucking classic.

yeah. it makes me want the spurs to lose too. i'm gonna be a hater.

my soft spot for the spurs was mostly cause they beat detroit, (and Horry made Sheed look stupid, he's the only reason i hate the pistons, etc.) it was kind of like they avenged detroit punking the lakers the year before (which they deserved), i think if karl malone didn't go down that would have been a way different series but anyway.

Dear Amare Stoudamire:

1) With the game on the line and 5 fouls, and the choice between an uncontested jumper from the foul line, and driving awkwardly into 2 Spurs, take the damn jumper.
2) ROTATE ON DEFENSE ONE OF THESE DAYS SO MICHAEL FINLEY DOESN'T TAKE WIDE OPEN GAME-TYING THREES IN A GAME YOU HAD WON

odom kind of dominating end of second quarter here

kobe had 14-15 pts after 3 quarters (on terrible shooting) and lakers were up by 15. loooook out

sheed rejecting iguodala like mad

in the 1st half at least

haven't really seen philly play all year and wow are they fun to watch

JOSH SMIIIIIFF

i was at my friend's bar on saturday during that spurs/suns game. the place was loaded with suns fans (or at least root for the suns) and since i had no vested interest in either team i cheered for the spurs. AWESOME GAME.

this is the first time since the mookie-and-mutumbo days that i seen the hawks in the playoffs. boy is this a magical moment~~~

*braces for assraping*

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2007/04/02/willisx.jpg

u gonna get raped

err
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2007/04/02/willisx.jpg

http://msn.foxsports.com/id/7566542_7_2.jpg

http://9cherries.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/captb52da54136af462cb2491c789ed2ea64aptopix_yankees_indians_baseball_ohmd122.jpg

<3 ortiz and pedroia going to the game together

Youkilis was sitting by himself :(

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080421/capt.c3e479c1154146aeb9dc5c7fff553e26.hawks_celtics_basketball_mack107.jpg?x=400&y=306&sig=tx_RGLA7oYTn.sIdNbdXEg--

aww lowell was there too

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20080421/i/r42960494.jpg?x=243&y=345&sig=UEpT52.qI07X1FRABARPlw--

garnett beating the shit out of powe after his apocalyptic dunk was pretty hilarious

yea that ruled

Youkilis was sitting by himself :(

no way he had some chick with him in the shot i saw

"At first I thought (Garnett) was going to help me up, then he gave me like two, three, four, five, six Roy Jones punches," Powe said of the mock assault he had to endure after slamming home a dunk over Josh Smith and Mike Bibby midway through the fourth quarter of Boston's 104-81 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. "Sam might have snuck about two in there."

we should talk a little abt how fucking dominant chris paul was the other day: 35&10 w/1 turnover! holy shit! 65% shooting 4 steals 3 rebounds!

dude is set to cause ferocious post season chaos

n.o. outscored dallas by 24 in the second half!

It is always awesome when the best players show you what their best game looks like.

no way he had some chick with him in the shot i saw

:D youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk :D

http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2008/04/21/1208754370_0276/300h.jpg

http://www.chivalry.net/wordpress/images/2007/05/15/karate-kid.jpg

"Leon's a grown-ass man," Garnett said. "Those were like high-fives to him. They just happened to be on the chest. I don't think he felt them at all."

Said Powe, "I felt them."

haha perfect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVTMBxnP4I

Is it too early to bitch about the retarded spaced-out playoff scheduling?

It's never to early because it's always terrible. That said, everything about NBA scheduling is terrible.

i was freaking the fuck out yesterday for a minute because i thought they preempted the laker game on ABC with the papal mass. Not until after I wished the popes death several times over did I discover it was moved to ESPN2

no cable for me so i get to see like two games a week. :-(

papal death=more preemption. keep your head in the game, carne.

lol! that's what my girl was telling me.

so that IS what she said, awesome.

i don't even know the words to explain how satisfying it is to hear marv exclaim "SOULJA BOY!!!" on live tv

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/2431712678_307ab5ea8d_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2095/2431712708_1cac4db64b_o.jpg

haaaay man relax its just a little sniff - no homo

i don't even know the words to explain how satisfying it is to hear marv exclaim "SOULJA BOY!!!" on live tv

-- cankles, Monday, April 21, 2008 7:55 PM

i need to hear the audio of that

Is that Chris Knox playing in that Heinekin commercial?!?!?

what's that sound?? mcgrady choking in the 4th quarter again? ckkkkkkk!

rockets are gonna get swept. sucks to be t-mac.

lol wizards

LOL @ magic johnson playing capn save-a-tmac, dude DID disappear in the 4th

Those face commercials copping Bergman's Persona stylee, y/n?

LOL @ magic johnson playing capn save-a-tmac, dude DID disappear in the 4th

What's he supposed to do when Utah decides to lock him down? Give it up to Luis Scola? Sign Olajuwon to a 10-day contract?

yah hes got nooo offensive support - the mcgrady playoff choker story is a complete farce - hes only got the 4th highest playoff scoring average in nba history boooo booooooooo

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0421/nba_ap_tmac_412.jpg

sorry i only went for 23-13-9 and got tired at the end :(

Is McGrady the NBA's answer to A-Rod?

You know who should step up for Houston? Chuck Hayes should step up for Houston.

you know who should step up in the 4th quarter? tracy mcgrady

you know who should step up his trolling? 6335

C-

not like it matters anymore, the brooms are coming out

sorry jshoea, think the dude is mad overrated

</deshawn>

well thanks to injuries hes not as good as he used to be but for a while he was absolutely one of the v best players in the game

i think the a-rod/mcgrady comparison upthread is a good one

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?playerId=532

i mean holy shit look @ 00-03

has any of tmacs losing playoff teams actually been the higher seed? he hasnt had the greatest supporting casts his whole career

kelly Dwyer's take (on Yahoo's b-ball blog) seems to be the smart one:

(...) Houston continues to move the ball and hope that Tracy McGrady (23 points on 22 shots, 13 rebounds, nine assists, five turnovers, two blocks, three steals) could keep it up for four quarters.

He couldn't, and TNT's postgame fawning over his all-around play was a bit much for me. T-Mac was absolutely brilliant until he sat for the first part of the fourth quarter, and while he may have been incredibly tired in that final frame, he didn't do himself any favors by launching perimeter bomb after perimeter bomb while the Jazz pulled away on the other end.

Just because the man was tired, it doesn't make him immune to criticism, nor does it force him into bad decisions - and those fourth quarter shots were all bad decisions.

McGrady, for the bulk of his career, has been borderline unstoppable in the triple-threat position at the low post extended. Give him the ball down there without exhausting his dribble, and he can drive, shoot, or put the ball on the floor for a post up.

Instead, in the fourth quarter of Game 2, he tried to take over with a series of 21-footers that didn't have a chance. And it's not like those shots were going in over the game's first three quarters, because all his misses came off poorly-conceived jumpers even before his legs left him.

The heart isn't in question, no flippin' way. It's the decision-making.

6335 bringing the fascinating received wisdoms - oh plz tell us more of yr brilliant original theories

what so you mad about? and what is this 'received wisdom' garbage, it's not a novel theory

but yeah he's been fantastic in the regular season for many years, no argument there

and he has the 4th highest playoff scoring average of all time

gahh, we on a mobius strip

i promise to be nicer to poor t-mac. f'real

series would probably be a tossup if they had yao and alston

i feel bad for the rich NBA player too.

tmac playoffs: 25 games 29.8ppg 44fg% 6.8rpg 5.8apg 3.3to

kobe playoffs: 119 games 22.6ppg 43fg% 4.8rpg 4.4apg 2.6to

new question: how many games they gonna give haywood for that lebron shove?

"Why are athletes getting paid all this money while people starve?"

"Why is all this attention given to sports instead of important things?"

"Why is Kobe such a ballhog?"

no new topic 6335 needs to recant his mindless sportswriter parroting

keep dreamin, magic

i always thought tmac shot too many jumpers for a guy 6'9". his career percentages are pretty bad, with the exception of a couple years in orlando. still never cracked 46%.

now he kind of has to play like that, with his back, but his percentages this year were just awful. like a poor man's brandon roy.

i love his handle and his court vision, though, and he seems like a great guy. always good for an off-the-backboard dunk in the all-star game.

btw duncan was legendary in game 1
it's cute that we're talking about kobe and lebron and chris paul, but timmy's the only dude playing right now with a spot in the all-time starting five.

sorry but even with the late game theatrics of hitting that three and all the solid play ,Mr. fundamentals still bores me to tears.

Excellence isn't boring to me.

he broke out that sweeping hook with the left over shaq and kind of blew my mind. never seen that move before.

most good post scorers have one go-to automatic move, one reliable counter move and a couple of iffy variations. duncan has like six legit moves over each shoulder that he'll make over and over again. it's ridiculous. AND he can face up.

he does move weird, kind of stiff, and a lot of his shots look like he lost the ball and it happened to go in, but there's no better technician in the league, and it seems like kevin mchale is the only dude with as many nba level post moves (i obv haven't watched everybody ever).

also duncan's defense. several times, he gets faked off his feet by amare, switches up his hands in the air, and lands with his off-hand right in front of the ball and forces a miss on a 4 footer.

but then again i was a fatass in high school and played in the post.

wish i had seen that game, it looked like it was incredible. i tend to think of duncan as sorta like the stockton of big men? no flash, owns people w/ straight fundamentals. except he actually wins championships too ;_;

Tim has no flash. That is true. He's still a magnificent player, which is kind of a miracle for a guy with no flash to his game.

if you saw timmy hit that 3 live and you still hate him give up

and he's not "fundamental"! he's really fucking crafty. idk, the dude is as close to an artist as anyone in the league right now

i was working last night during both games but is cavs v. wizards must see now?! i thought it was just friendly trash talk between lbj and 0 but they actually hate each other now?

o jordan says were not allowed to hate anyone who made a good shot even if they were born w/o a personality ok jeez

I've heard rumors Tim uncloaks his personality in the locker room.

"his personality"

yah well its hard to imagine he just goes around everywhere looking incredulous

is anybody besides spurs fan excited about the thought of another tim duncan finals appearance?

owns people w/ straight fundamentals /= being fundamental, stockton was all about crafty artistry too

http://i29.tinypic.com/33f3nlx.jpg

charming

carne otm

if you saw timmy hit that 3 live and you still hate him give up

I reserve the right to hate him and every clown on that Spurs team regardless of their greatness or fundamental ruthlessness because every time one of those professional morts fouls a dude and IMMEDIATELY puts their hands out and hangs that fucking pathetic WHA HAPPEN NOT ME look on their face I lose my fucking mind.

If you follow the league conspiracy line you have to figure the suns come out of that series, go on to win the next, then match up with lakers in the conference finals. Lakers win at home in a highly rated game 7 and go on to play the Celtics in the finals. Not that I buy into that kind of thing or anything.

yah just like how last year the league suspended those important spurs players in the sun/spurs series on some bullshit

they have a new marketing department this year.

i'm rooting for the spurs against phoenix. there i said it.

only bad players don't complain to teh refs.

only bad players don't complain to teh refs.

Kendrick Perkins looks over with questioning eyes and wonders why he was called for that obvious push in the back.

most technicals this year:

Kobe Bryant 15
Baron Davis 13
Rasheed Wallace 12
Carmelo Anthony 11
Kenyon Martin 11
Brad Miller 11
Cuttino Mobley 11
Chris Paul 11
Amare Stoudemire 11
Raja Bell 10
Tyson Chandler 10
Linas Kleiza 10
Mikki Moore 10
Andres Nocioni 10
Kevin Garnett 9
Richard Hamilton 9
Stephen Jackson 9
Kendrick Perkins 9
Paul Pierce 8
Matt Barnes 7

kendrick made the top 20!!

i really enjoy this list, mostly for dudes like mikki moore and fucking kleiza.

brad miller was an all-star once and won't let the refs forget that.

there's a big dif between complaining to the refs and being a teamful of whiny bitches.

btw jshoea, sorry for comparing t-mac to a-rod, that was stppid. got a lil too drunk on the haterade

huge dif

Yeah A-Rod's been a lot healthier (and better.)

WOW @ Chris Paul. What a basketball player.

yow! chris paul is obliterating the mavs

no one is going to be v psyched to play this guy

mavs missing devin harris now

just missed the game.
32 pts 17ast on 10 for 16 shooting for CP
how do you defend this guy?

you need a quick defensively strong guard to check him and good interior d for back up

out of realistic payoff opponents only s.a. and boston fit the bill

although utah has given him fits w/o defensive minded big men

phoenix and l.a. could just try and out score n.o.

play the passing lanes. make him beat you by scoring

the other guys get involved in the offense and before you know it they're playing a little D.

wait, who's the sa g that's gonna stop paul?

tony parker is a v good defender and hes the right kind of player to slow paul

really? he never impressed me with his d, and I've never heard anyone rate him highly for it. I def think Deron could slow him down though.

yah hes not usually considered one of s.a. d stars but hes quick strong and plays hard - theyre good all around - ginobili too

fwiw john hollinger had him as an honorable mention defensive pg

shaq is balling

ginobili gets better as his bald spot grows

tony parker makes lots of bad decisions. i bet popovich hates him.

i guess i just have this notion in my head that he's pretty boy with a hollywood wife and only is interested in scoring. sorry tony!

cp3's numbers against SA this season:
26 pts, 17 asts, 12 for 19
27, 4 (!!), 11/23
17, 11, 8/16
18, 7, 8/15

eh not exactly shut down but 3 of 4 he wasnt destroying them

regardless yr not gonna get any burn in s.a. unless you can play some d

god if sa beats phx and then the hornets i may cry.

LOL hack a shaq. he made them pay.

nash still looks like he doesn't quite know what to do with shaq in there

LOLed @ shot of shaq on the bench and whistling during duncan's free throws

Tony Parker, after being asked about colliding w/ Shaq: "It's OK; my wife will take care of me." PIMP

kenny smith after watching peja 3 highlight - "cling! cash rules everything around me!" yessss

ginobli is so gd good, it almost makes me wish he played for a less loathsome team. i'm not rooting for SA, but at the same time i am hoping that the suns lose... i sorta feel like they deserve to lose at this point~

Well he does play for the Argentinian National Team so you can root for them without guilt if you want.

Rondo is fucking unreal. I just expect him to set up a ladder at some point.

ginobili converted me this year.

he came into the league kind of old so i thought it would be downhill (esp w/bald spot and falling all the time), but he raised to another level this year. his flopping is still ridiculous

lol charles watching house of payne

LOL @ relentless jeering of bibby

garnett is possessed

Those years of playing for the Timberwolves deranged him more than I ever suspected.

god reggie is worthless in the booth. get cheryl up there

he's doing a poor man's bill walton no lie (and i actually like bill walton in the booth, for the record)xxp garnett seems semi-detached these days, not so sure it's just a 'game face' anymore. more power to him.

nuggets still play like they met five minutes before tip

nugs defense isn't as bad as the pundits would have you believe, a lot of it is a function of pace, but one thing they don't do it guard the three point line. and the lakers have 15 euros ready to make those shots.

for a second i was think that i remembered Karl as being a defensive coach,but it was probably my memory of payton on those Seattle teams.

the guy does preach a little bit of defense to these players doesn't he?

i think they really do suck that much
xpost

they don't even seem to communicate on that end of the floor

those mid-90's sonics played defense so good it looked like offense, it might have just been the personnel but i doubt it(gp, mcmillan, mckey, ellis). karl went kinda don nelsonish in milwaukee and hasn't looked back, for some reason.

they play the fastest pace in the league (maybe second?), so the media says they give up too many points. the pace adjusted numbers say they're like middle of the pack. najera, nene, camby, kenyon are all good defensive players. but, overall, they don't play hard enough to get important stops or to guard sophisticated passing cutting offenses. they could guard a team like themselves alright.

they're also MUCH MUCH WORSE on offense than people say. just fucking awful. they were right with the lakers til they had a 3 minute scoring drought. karl's never coached an offense, just lets everyone freelance.

they don't communicate on either end of the floor. you look like a dork like tim duncan if you're always whining about help and rotations.

i would just never count on that squad to get a stop when you had to have it.

true. also kenyon just doubled off of kobe to help on gasol lol

but pace is key. i dont' really like the hollinger types b/c bball seems like the least quantifiable sport, but they at least understand that camby blocks so many shots cuz he has more shots to block than anyone else (not cuz he's DPOY)

yeah, i'm not really talking stats this isn't baseball

thanks for that

watching camby and gasol try to completely avoid physical contact in the post is fascinating

that's because they both have razor sharp elbows

god look at melo not listening at half

Josina: Do you think that Linas Kleiza was trying to make a statement in tonight’s game since his name was brought up in a possible trade for you. It seemed like he had extra gas in his tank tonight with you in town, did you notice that?

Artest: He’s a good player. I like his game. He’s a hood dude too. I like hardcore guys from the hood.

lol @ nugs

where did lamar go? just noticed he didn't play in the 2nd half did he?

it's almost as if den v. la is just as big of a mismatch as atl v. boston

i think kobe's ego was hurt by the odom/pau luv-- he just told barkley he wanted to "send a message"

also that douchey shooter mcgavin move he did

ASTON MARTIN JUMP IS FAAAAAAAAAAKE

ok he actually seems to be genuinely laughing at inside the nba aston martin gag :D

also that douchey shooter mcgavin move he did

i've watched him enough to know he's really forcing it at this point, other than schooling j.r. smith as a personal project. and it's having the opposite effect that he's intending on his teammates unfortunately.

not that it matters in this round, just saying. he should content himself with his guys playing smart and unselfishly, even if they're a little too chipper and soft for the playoffs in his opinion.

ok he actually seems to be genuinely laughing at inside the nba aston martin gag

I actually lol'd when the car hit Kenny. Also nice: Ernie's road rage.

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0423/nba_a_bryant2_sw_412.jpg

dude its just teh nuggs chillax

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080421/capt.5761f656bfff48de960a14c413379c46.hawks_celtics_basketball_mack104.jpg

id say the same for you but as i think everyones aware youre just completely insane

i feel like melo belongs on the knicks. imagine that do boy front line.

i wish they had some talent for a trade.

kobe did whatever the hell he wanted to in that game.

they yanked him right before he could tie/beat his playoff record for points in one game. lol.

http://www.nba.com/media/KGdaward_300_080423.jpg

its possible kobes scoring tantrum was motivated by intense chris paul envy huh

he was taking what they were giving him. he wasn't out there forcing it.

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080421/capt.5761f656bfff48de960a14c413379c46.hawks_celtics_basketball_mack104.jpg
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/3521/d747456517da224265512c1tk7.jpg

wtf dwyane wade is dating STAR JONES.

SHUT UP

she's divorcing her gay husband

http://www.mediatakeout.com/photo/1208523517stardwaynedating.jpg

Wow

wtf dwyane wade is dating STAR JONES.

-- polyphonic, Thursday, April 24, 2008 11:53 AM (56 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^O_O O_O O_O O_O^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I guess their wedding will be broadcast on NBA TV.

I hope this pushes Barkely out of his fav five.

http://www.adrants.com/images/DwyaneWadeLettertoBBall_web.jpg

worst news of dwyanes career

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tmz.com/media/2008/04/0424_star_dwayne_crowd_getty.jpg

oh my god dwyane what are you thinking

That championship was the worst thing to ever happen to him.

Tho she might work as a replacement in the T-Mobile commericials, as I can see Star on a horse, looking real fierce, eating a cheesesteak.

:D :D :D

doods this wizards/cavs game is hilarious

DeShaun really needs to give the YOU CANT SEE ME handjive a rest.

soulja boy tell'em

it's THE YAYO DANCE for fuck's sake

done by the dude who looks like the long lost black member of band of horses

lebron is dropping 45 next game btw

i would love a .gif of alston kiss + landry SCREW FACE

Several Wizards also sported a new look in front of the home crowd, which was almost universally dressed in white. Butler had his nickname -- "Tough Juice" -- etched into the back of his hair. Stevenson and Andray Blatche sported mohawks, and Nick Young showed off a modified high-top fade. ...

Fuck, I missed seeing this? This sounds amazing.

Stevenson actually pulled off the hawk.

i am so pulling for the return of the motherfucking hi top fade omg best haircut ever there was a kid in the mcdonalds all american game this year w/one i got so psyched

wizards and rockets r making it intersting WHY BECUZ IT LOOK INTERSTING

The old sartorial psych-out. Oldest trick in the book.

didnt see any games last nite but wow looking at the box score utah lost at the line lol 20 for 33

jshoea otm, boozer was 3 of 8 :\ big game from alston too

excellent in depth investigation into ray allens completely insanity http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/routine_excellence_is_allens_secret/?page=1

^^^i just emailed this to like 6 people. completely fascinating

Stackhouse on Byron Scott:

"I don't think Byron Scott is the best coach or I don't think he's the best guy to deal with -- you know what I'm sayin? -- from some things that I've heard from other players and just some dealings that I had with him earlier in the season. I was about ready to kick his ass -- you know what I'm sayin? He was sitting on the sideline and we just got into a little conversation or something and he was going to tell me, you know, 'Talk to me when you get a ring.' I was like, I told that fool, 'If I played with Magic and Worthy and Kareem I'd have a ring, too'. So, you know, he's a sucker in my book, but that's a whole other story."

'If I played with Magic and Worthy and Kareem I'd have a ring, too'

Too fucking right, Jerry. Tell the man.

haha otm

byron is an excellent coach tho

"Ray roomed with Travis Knight at UConn. Knight was disorganized, messy. Worst of all, he squeezed the toothpaste tube from the middle."

excellent in depth investigation into ray allens completely insanity http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/routine_excellence_is_allens_secret/?page=1

-- jhøshea, Friday, April 25, 2008 6:55 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Link

^^^i just emailed this to like 6 people. completely fascinating

-- J0rdan S., Friday, April 25, 2008 6:56 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Link

it is a really fantastic piece, the best sports related article ive read in a long a time

lol sarge is a speed reader

omg it is by a girl ^_^

Don't look now, but womenfolk are smoking & working at the factory, too!

i don't think philly wins the series, but if they do, nobody can touch boston, can they?

with no detroit, boston will cruise and then sit in the mccain seat, just waiting and watching.

LOL PISTONS

what exactly did josh howard say? just 'i smoked some weed once?"

devin harris is here to support him.

consummate professional mike tirico with the answer

he said he smokes during the offseason. not a good thing to do say.

go philly

RIP SUNS

i'll remember these suns teams fondly like those sacto teams a while back

felt bad for shaq, they went after him in the pick and roll. whoever he switched onto had the green light to score. and the hack a shaq was embarassing for everyone.

woulda been cool is suns won a title, then shaq stylishly retired with 5 rings. i guess it could stil happen..

i guess it could stil happen.

In an alternate universe, perhaps?

The Shaq deal was a desperate stab by a gm with too few choices or too little imagination. But it was better than the Jason Kidd deal.

lmbo i love dat fuccn Ray Allen article... i've always loved that dude for some reason, i was suuuper stoked when he was traded to the celtics, moreso than garnett tbh.

i'm goin to the game tonight... i gotta say, no matter how much i love horford, smiff, jojo (and i really do, tho josh smith disappointed me a lil this season after supplanting joe johnson as my favorite player last year), it is still agonizing for me to watch the Hawks. cuz every time i see marvin williams drag his sorry ass out onto the floor, i am just screaming in my head 'THAT COULD'VE BEEN CHRIS PAUL' and the whole thing is ruined for me. i won't be happy until that mofo is playing ball in fuckin Croatia or somethin.

when i was growin up the Hawks were the only atlanta team worth rooting for, i have an extra amount of affection for them so this is like a zero-sum situation for me. hopefully i just get to see a good game~~~

toronto's defense is really inept, it's not like they're not trying

i don't think i've seen one of their games in a couple years

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0425/nba_g_bell_nash_412.jpg

hay wahts wrong w/kobe is he all tired out from so much raping lol colorado is like that

lol am0n

every time i see marvin williams drag his sorry ass out onto the floor, i am just screaming in my head 'THAT COULD'VE BEEN CHRIS PAUL' and the whole thing is ruined for me.

-- cankles, Saturday, April 26, 2008 4:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

universal hawk fan experience - i cant imagine how much this would piss me off - its prob like how until they finally ended the world series drought the bill buckner play would be shown at least once during every red sox national telecast and youd just go o fuk are we still talking abt this gaaah no

i feel for u canky

hay wahts wrong w/kobe is he all tired out from so much raping lol colorado is like that

lmao

hawks are bringin it! just 4 u cankles

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg263/trinidudes/mcgrady_rip_300_080410.jpghttp://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/2008/1101080505_400.jpg

anyone want to bet on this being a no sweep first round?

denver, u are the weakest link

atl must be going apeshit right now

suns get sweeped tomorrow

keepin the sweepervesence street ghetto essence inside us

*solved*

sa has made phx look REAL bad, you almost have to feel sorry for them. not only do they still not play d, but now they can't run n gun to compensate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgeFmmtFbnM

horford hollering at fallen down pierce was epic

yah whaaatever epic one game yelling omg

FUCK YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111 FUIASDFCSDKLCJAS I AM PUMPIN MAH FIST

I'M GOIN HUNGRAYYYYYYYYY

u mad

xpost

stfu hytop

ha that mustve been a sweet game to be at canky

ya no kiddin! i mean, seriously, my only hope/want was that the hawks would still be in it in the 4th quarter, not some shit like that. i know it dont mean nothin but just having PLAYOFF BASQETBOL in this city again is so awesome!!!

was it a good crowd? it sounded alright on tv

i used to like those dikembe-steve smith teams for some reason.

paul pierce threw up a gang sign or something at horford after that wtfffffff

i used to like those dikembe-steve smith teams for some reason.

-- hytop, Sunday, April 27, 2008 5:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

heh, the last time they were in the playoffs was in the mookie-mutumbo-smitty days!

jeff van gundy got jokes hope he never leaves the broadcasting booth. win/win!

every time i see marvin williams drag his sorry ass out onto the floor, i am just screaming in my head 'THAT COULD'VE BEEN CHRIS PAUL' and the whole thing is ruined for me.

-- cankles, Saturday, April 26, 2008 4:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

I never realized how shitty that draft was.

suns get sweeped tomorrow

-- am0n, Saturday, April 26, 2008 11:16 PM (Yesterday)

d'antoni just got ejected!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.nba.com/media/euro_dantoni_122205.jpg

gotten himmel

omg is that eric piatkowski????

The Hairline

http://i30.tinypic.com/3347u4o.jpg

igoudala's yam over rasheed :) :) :) i am enjoying this more than the lakers series. for a half, anyway.

:( hate when i'm right

kevin harlan said something about david west taking it like a man (it being a charge) then doug collins immediately described nowitzki as "erect"

seriously!

pargo is a great streak shooter bench guy

will lakers sweep y/n

Y

yah im inclined to say Y - nuggs hav no self respect

definitely. nuggets who have showed up for the series: JR, Kleiza, Najera

everyone else seems to want it over with.

this is funny, tho:
On the bench in the fourth quarter Anthony repeatedly screamed at coach George Karl: "Don't just sit there!"

hahahahahaha

stand up yell stuff call plays we wont bother running

melo: great scorer, pisspoor basketball player/teammate

iverson isn't dogging it either; neither he or melo are playing smart which is, uh very newsworthy. coach don't give a shit

I've never felt like Karl was much of a coach. McMillan was floor-coaching those Sonics teams that did so well. Karl barely looks like he's paying attention from the bench half the time.

"hawks is the new warriors" is not a meme, but "hawks is the new warriors is not a meme" is a meme

!

Not to sound all Heinsohny (yeah right), but I'd love to see if the refs were wearing Hawks undies under their pants. Also: if the Hawks keep on shooting like that, then they're going to win the championship.

o man o man o man

YOUR FINALS MVP: AL HORFORD

imo

if the Hawks keep on shooting like that, then they're going to win the championship

that's the thing, the golden state thing, they have no business shooting like that(or they'd be 82-0), but there they go and what're you gonna do?
boallas celvericks omg

in other news, it's official: no defense allowed on jr smith wtf

that's the thing, the golden state thing, they have no business shooting like that(or they'd be 82-0), but there they go and what're you gonna do?

Maybe make more than 50% of their free throws and/or finish any of 20 lay-ups / easy jumpers? And sucker punch the next fucking ref that can't tell a charge from a block and calls ticky-tack bullshit on one end but lets straight-up mugging happen on the other end?

And yes I love Waltah too

PS - fuck one Zaza.

lol @ Reggie calling this half the best for the Nugs in this series, and they're still down 10

or lol @ Nugs

make that lol @ Reggie in general (tho he was prob. right on the Nugs thing)

like they said in the pre-game: melo, put up or stf up

also:

SUP
http://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/josh_childress-arton20911-240x240.jpg

yeah childress has turned into a player!!

i'm stoked to see the nuggs start saying things they can't take back. the real season begins now!!

also joe johnson. he plays with zero explosion, just an incredible handle and great touch. he'll be nice for along time cuz he already has the old man game.

lol @ doc rivers: DAMMIT RAY!

Yeah, I didn't realize Ray Ray was the one JJ was schooling for most of the game. Here's hoping he sics Pierce on him next game (and Pierce doesn't get 2 fouls called on him in the first 6 minutes BECAUSE THE REFS WON'T LET THE CELTS PLAY ETC ETC ETC TOMMY POINT).

nuggs pretty much rolled over in that series. it won't be until the next round before we see if this laker team is really that good.

Lebron: "It's big for Delonte, to know that I have faith in him, to take that shot."

wtf

"Awww," Haywood said in a whiny, high-pitched voice to mock James. "They are trying to hurt me."

HEY GUYS can we talk about that chick color commentator, i am diggin her imo, did they steal her from the wnba or sumthin

the best part about last night was when solomon jones came off the bench and stockton said somethin like - "these long-armed power forwards are giving the celtics so much trouble!!!!!" - and you could just imagine billy knight lighting a cigar somewhere and smirking

that was the most aggression zaza's shown in his entire career btw

HEY GUYS can we talk about that chick color commentator, i am diggin her imo, did they steal her from the wnba or sumthin

Totally agree! Never heard of her before, but she's great. Also, Rick Carlisle has been very good.

carne otm. denver wasn't even a proper tuneup for battling utah

i hate the timbre of that chick's voice, sry. like calm down, we know you know all the cliches why not space them out over several games instead of all at once

>>>>>>> reggie miller but no

he plays with zero explosion

you crazy. i think he's just deceptively explosive cause he's got such a big body. granted the defender he was blowing by was usually r. allen, but he was blowing by folks.

i just mean he doesn't play above the rim. and i don't think his first step is great. he just changes direction a bunch, stays under control, gets a shoulder past his defender.

have you ever seen him dunk, or finish a complicated layup? it's floaters, mid-range jumpers, threes. let me reiterate that i LIKE this aspect of his game.

you're right that his size is the main thing, he's huge.

wtf the hawks deciding to grow a pair just now?

im freaking out having superbowl flashbacks over here

i'm too young to remember the '88 shootout, but i gotta imagine that this is almost as good!!! I BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hytop otm re: jojo btw, dude's just silky-smooth (n/h)

To be fair, the Celts were asking for it w/ that awful GARNETT INVITATIONAL ARRRRRRGH Gatorade commercial.

Are you guys on the "wow woman commentator" tip talking about Dan Schulman's PBP partner? If so, that's Doris Burke -- she mostly does college games, I think (women & men), and is more with it, analysis wise, than most of the dudes spitting nonsense nowadays. In a just world, she & Schulman would be #2 on ESPN's depth chart, behind Breen & in place of Tirico (they can absorb Hubie). Tremendoid needs to unhurt his butt and stop oppressing DB's god-given right to whip out the same cliches her XY bros flagelate on a daily basis.

As for Reggie: I'd rather have Marv abetted by a recording of his getting whipped by a call girl than to have to deal w/ Reggie's horrifically stupid "wha English" bullshit. Unless the dude's trying out for the role of Idiot Commentator in some upcoming Chris Guest flick about the NBA -- if so, then kudos, Reginald, you fucking clown!

have you ever seen him dunk, or finish a complicated layup?

haha no i just assumed he never felt like it/didn't need to with the complete floater repertoire but that with that body, he could if needed to. (no actual basis for my thinking here, ie you probably right otm)

everyone is paling in comparison to the van gundy/jackson dynasty these days, but doris is not bad

guys if kenny leaves, will magic be in the studio 24/7??

we need him on tnt forever

him = Magic, or Kenny?

he's the only talking head who's made the (very salient) point that just because the nuggs have two of the 5 best scorers in the league, it doesn't mean that they have a good offense. they have no continuity on offense or defense, so their problems aren't just on one side of the ball (he said)

lol kenny

When Shaq retires, TNT needs to hire him. I will chip in $1 towards that cause.

magic is aight tho-- he made some good points last night re:the nuggets but i can't remember them, maybe about the fact that since the nuggets play so one-on-one on offense they play one-on-one on defense, and if they had a more team oriented offense it would help their defense by proxy. might've been kenny though

yeah otm about shaq. webber's been painful

Tremendoid needs to unhurt his butt and stop oppressing DB's god-given right to whip out the same cliches her XY bros flagelate on a daily basis.

i think it's her humorlessness that gets to me, and the games i've heard they have no 3rd wheel so it's just boring straight guy and earnest color zzzzz. chick hearn spoiled me(no homer), even though i caught him at the tail end of his career i haven't heard another announcer 1/10 as good ever so when i hear people big up marv albert or whoever i just shake my head. tommy heinsohn sounds like he'd be fun to listen to, i dunno. of the current bozos doing it i prefer shoot-the-shitters with occasional insight(hence van gundy love. where the fuck did bill walton go srsly?) over wall-to-wall COGENT ANALYSIS. most of these games are boring enough as it is.

webber's been painful

Nuts! He's been great (albeit a bit taken w/ the sort of cliche-mongering he's too smart to fall for)!

where the fuck did bill walton go srsly?

OK you just lost whatever cred you had on this topic when you cry out for Bill Walton play-by-play because when BW wasn't interminably railing on about CHAMPIONSHIP BASHKETBALL like a fucked up Teddy Ruxpin he was either whipping out his Roget's to fellate whatever superstar he was stuck watching or pointlessly bickering with a dude that actually knows his shit (Steve "Snapper" Jones). Dude's a horse-faced hippie clown (that happens to be recovering from back surgery -- get well soon, jerkface!)

Also, Heinsohn is often on-point with his observations about strategy and stuff, but his pro-Celts steez is hard to take unless you piss green and shit shamrocks.

Yeah, I'd rather have my analysts analyzing stuff instead of cracking wise, but it's a personal preference. Van Gundy is great too, and Mark Jackson is good in the Doris Burke role (lol).

Kenny Smith is only allowed to do stuff like this (http://youtube.com/watch?v=OTQ5J4W0_RI) for the rest of his life.

i rofled for like 5 straight minutes at that kobe spoof. the best part of it is that kenny thought they were going to edit him in jumping over the car so he was genuinely surprised. the night after they originally showed it, they played the tape of kenny jumping into the air and then mocking kobe's celebration, which is obv what he thought was going to be the ending

it's funny to listen to a chick hearn b-cast and how he allows his color man to speak half a sentence every 10 minutes or so. don't know why they even felt like he needed one.
isn't magic too busy with all his bidness dealings to work for tnt full time? chemistry between kenny and charles has been holding the ship afloat for the last couple years, ever since the round mound has seemed a bit disinterested (and/or i've taken his "oh no you just did not say that"ness for granted)

Chick was also working a simulcast.

i'm too young to remember the '88 shootout, but i gotta imagine that this is almost as good!!!

fuck, i was driving a car!

i feel old now. i think i gotta break the no going out on school nights rule and find a bar on wednesday to watch the next game.

magic is brutal. not only is his shit real obvious and mundane, he rambles on and on and does all types of little shrugs and smiles and tiny hand gestures...

if kenny goes they should steal jalen from espn. btw jalen's stream of consciousness espn blogs are super wtf...i think he just dictates them while walking to his car

i like walton cuz i believe he's been trolling his whole career. how else can you take shit like "jermaine o'neal just made the most magnificent play in the history of this storied pacers franchise"

also love when he won't mention his kid's first name, just awkwardly says walton made an okay play. totally flips his whole style

steve snapper jones is cool cuz his name is snapper

The mustard is off the hot dog.

jalen sucks ugh

Walton is completely awful. Jackson and Van Gundy seem to have a decent enough schtick going. Mostly I listen to games with the sound really low though.

hytop otm. walton's awesome, funny thing is he'd play it straight on local clipper broadcasts and then he'd get on the next day and fuck with everybody on abc. haven't seen snapper either, he wears his biases on his sleeve sometimes but he's good to listen to

the lakers' color man (stu lantz, who worked with chick for a long time and thus had to learn how to be concise) is pretty great at analysis and neither he or the announcer make with the yuks really so i can appreciate that style too when it's done well.

walton + marv albert is classic in my book. still (hazily) remember this moment where they zoomed in on a closeup of a glittery hi-heel that some dancer or entertainer was wearing and walton cracks "that looks like something that would be in your closet, marv". dead silence from marv and they cut to commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS9KvGdRGlw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZS6sRVWsk

Okay I laffed.

jalen's a fuckin bro tho. i live somewhat near the worldwide leader and know some peeps who work there behind the scenes who've gone out drinking with him

i <3 bill walton

when will a johnny crunch bro down w/jalen rose???

man ^^ that is the Q! i told my buddy to call me to meet out next time for sure! they went to a ridic country & western bar once and jalen stuck out like a sore thumb in that crowd it mustve been so lol!!!

we ask only photos in return for our undying amusement

lmao look at that fukkin dog

all catchin frisbees and what have you

dang

uuuuuuungh

uuuuuuungh

-- J0rdan S., Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:36 PM (42 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

RIP nu-suns it was fun while it lasted

I'm starting to wonder how many western conf teams are going to get blown up this summer. It's just too many teams expecting too much.

man the mavs need a second scorer so fucking bad

KENNY WEARING A WHITE + BLUE PINSTRIPE SHIRT AND AN ORANGE TIE TONIGHT

http://home.cinci.rr.com/justamerican/images/Siren_animated.gif

man the mavs need a second scorer point guard that doesn't suck so fucking bad

Jason Kidd trade's going to bite them like Marv (if it hasn't already).

Stu Lantz is like the Hubie Brown you buy at Walgreen's -- not as enjoyable, needs to stop putting words in Kobe's / Sasha's / Luke's mouth. But he's paired w/ a dimestore Kevin Harlan (in Joel Myers), so it works out.

(Basing this on NBA Ticket action I caught during the past year, FWIW, so flame on.)

Did the Chuck Wagon say his piece about the Boston / Atlanta series? If so, what did he say? I fell asleep during the discussion about New Orleans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6vSvg15zEQ

^rip

xxp stu is no hubie brown i'll give you that, but his main strength is big men, he can break down what goes on in the paint as well as anyone but yeah it's not the same as the coach. haha i always want to call joel myers kevin harlan! he's on par, if not better, though, what the fuck does harlan bring to the table except that annoying marv voice-clinching thing and a good segue now and then? and a national tv contract... you're weird.
chuck said boston is the way better team but pierce or ray need to have breakout games cos they're playing regular season style. kenny said atlanta knows what their immutable advantages are (speed, strength, and energy) and if they play to them they will win

jalen rose is also the source of one of my favorite quotes about detroit ever: "at two in the morning the only thing open is hospitals, jails, and legs."

http://home.cinci.rr.com/justamerican/images/Siren_animated.gif dantoni out!

you're weird

you talkin to me?

Like I said, my half-ass opinions of Stu & Joel are based on maybe 10 games I flipped past this year (if that), but every time I stopped there, Stu was seemingly waxing the Lakers' boogie board at every opportunity while Myers fellated Jeremy Piven about how awesome Entourage was. That said, Kevin Harlan is most definitely balls.

for a homer, stu's not much of a homer; he says what the lakers 'need to do to win' obv. but he points out good plays on both sides and certainly doesn't make excuses for them. myers is a company man, i'm not really moved to defend him, he's got an ok voice i guess. d'antoni getting the axe prematurely i think (given the options out there). avery is a good coach but maybe not a good fit for mavs, who should be a lot more fluid by now offensively given the talent.

stu lance is a broken record

circles is right about too many teams expecting too much. firing people changes stuff around - but sometimes I think what would really help these teams is to just stick together and work at getting better with what you got for more than two years. learning experience instead of always starting over.

avery gone now too

that whole new wardrobe this season all for naught :(

Wow -- maybe if the Celtics get bounced from the playoffs, they'll fire Doc & hire D'Antoni! D'Antoni's offensive acumen + Thibodeau's defensive awesomeness! (NB: I don't want the Celtics to get bounced from the playoffs.)

they should do it anyway!

why? because...
thirded

doc ain't hittin it right

Thibodeau probably won't be with the Celts next year, though.

tremendoid, you're overlooking "OH, RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES!!!!"
XPOSTS

i know it was a money thing but i always wondered why joe johnson was shipped out without much gnashing of teeth, they were a big body away from something big back then. thinking you could plug any old james jones into the system and keep it humming was pretty silly.

Maybe the Celts can make TT the head coach! After they get bounced! Which I don't want to happen! The bouncing!

Did Phoenix dump JJ & Quentin Richardson during the same off-season? I was surprised when Q was traded, but looking @ what he has(n't) done for the Knicks, I guess Colangelo knew what he was doing. Steve Kerr, OTOH...

Folks looking to give The True Jet a job in the front office shd look @ what Kerr did & say no.

houston playing with much heart. they've won in utah once already. i'd love to see them push this to 7 games. all while LA lays in wait.

I don't see what Kerr did that was so bad. He wasn't going to re-sign Marion, and now he has an ENORMOUS expiring contract to work with.

i hope the pistons lose next round then fire flip and hire AVERY

in all seriousness he'd be perfect for them imo

Ha -- speaking of Kerr, Chuckles has INSIDE INFORMATION that D'Antoni pushed for the Shaq trade. Also, I didn't know about the contract thing. Ergo, I will shut up for at least 5 minutes.

I could not disagree more. I mean:

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/04/29/mid-sink-mutiny-not-helping-dallas-win-game-5/

This is not the guy I'd want coaching my team.

In other news, Darius Songalia is HARD (and k-stupid).

The Cavs bench shd do the Stevenson face-wipe move every time he chucks up a brick.

everyone signed off on the shaq tried, so it's unfair to put the onus fully on kerr even if he theoretically has final say.

i didn't see that darius play at full speed, but to my eyes it looked just like coach jordan explained it.

someone needs to euthanize big ben

lmao @ lebron's last second FAIL

were there fireworks? this arena looks hell of hazy

i wouldn't mind avery replacing karl. these nuggets could use some overcoaching.

wtf was that last 2 minutes. jesus, it's typical Cavs basketball standing around doing nothing while the ball is pounded at the perimeter.

d'antoni started out with the storied vanexel-mcdyess-lafrentz era nuggets and was no better or worse than dan issel (tho the cupboard was obv bare in terms of talent)

he's a good coach with a sharp moustache, but nash has been the offensive genius over there. i would go to toronto if i were him and keep things loose and euro.

were there fireworks? this arena looks hell of hazy

-- hytop, Wednesday, April 30, 2008 8:53 PM (14 minutes ago)

if you mean boston garden yeah it looks like they allowed the fans to smoke inside cuz they're so nervous about losing

Goddamn that Cavs game was SLOPPY. LeBron should NEVER attempt a three-pointer. How the fuck do they only score 87 points at home? brownie's right; those last two minutes were excruciating.

And why is it every five seconds there has to be some form of arena crowd cheer or "DEE!! FENSE!!" or that loud annoying obnoxious announcer dude? Is it possible for the Q to shut the fuck up for five seconds and let the crowd cheer themselves?

^^^^ irrational Cavs fan (plz "LeBron should NEVER attempt a three" I'm face-waving at that shit)

tho OTM about retarded PA-assisted DEE-FENSE chants -- every team that allows that shd lose every game they play; if hosting a team that does that shit on their floor, should be a 60-60 draw

oops banknorth* garden, not boston

"He wasn't going to re-sign Marion, and now he has an ENORMOUS expiring contract to work with."

Shaq's enormous contract isn't expiring for TWO more years!

and he's only becoming less tradeable by the day. it wasn't hard to see from the start that this was a GREAT MOVE.

I guess I know why I didn't know about the contract thing!

celtics domination a huge relief over here - i still havent seen them come close to focusing for a whole game yet tho - they came out of halftime like wha theres another half to this shit

i think if acie law turns out to be good and if the they can pick up a center the hawks might be able to move into the perennial top 4 of the east in 2-3 years. johnson + horford + smith are legitimately energizing to watch

face-waving @ bibby's series tho

rondos shooting 50% for the series and has an 8 to 1 assist/turnover ratio

new developments in the nba: point guards who never turn the ball over and like a quarter of the guys in the leauge shooting 40%+ from three. how did this happen? s'weird.

also <3 leon powe doing grown man shit 24/7 - this guy is a monster - hes never scared

I guess I know why I didn't know about the contract thing!

Whoops! The website I gleaned that from was in error, I guess.

i think if acie law turns out to be good

lol!

and if the they can pick up a center

lolol!

sighhhhhh

Boston Garden always looks hella cloudy, I like it, gives it an old-timey air even in HD.
Aren't arenas that DON'T overdo the scoreboard-prompted chants/cheering a tiny minority at this point? It incenses me during Bulls game that the loudest cheers are for the friggin donut/coffee cup races on the big screen. And then you get that awkward moment when the fake crowd noise meter shuts off and the artificially created crowd noise immediately dies. Mind you the guy who came up with all the extra curricular hullabaloo for the Bulls is the role model for the rest of the arenas.

Boston Garden always looks hella cloudy, I like it, gives it an old-timey air even in HD

You guys know they've been shooting off fireworks before every game in Boston, right? I would link to the totally hokey-yet-effective pre-game clip-show they roll out to coincide w/ the show, but I can't get to YouTube.

I assumed so. They do that during reg season games, too, don't they?

Not every game -- they did for the season opener (obviously), and maybe one or two other times. I want to say they did it before their first "important" game of the season (against the Pistons), but I'm not sure.

Anyone ever heard the Atlanta player intros? Over-the-top hilarity. "A 6'9" forward, J Smoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove!!!!"

lol fireworks indoors always wtf

i have smoked at the old boston garden! not sure if it was allowed but EVERYONE was doing it.

what sweet ol place! it was amazing when they tore it down - the new building was like one foot away so they had to do the demo brick by brick - they started on one end and methodically disassembled the place - when you came into north station on the T you could look right into it

http://www.nasdidemolition.com/images/BostonGarden.jpg
http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/BostonBruins/gardendemo.jpg
http://robert.souther.us/images/Boston%20Garden%20Demolition.jpg

eh not great pix - i worked in a photo lab when this was happening and someone made a sweet shop of the half destroyed garden w/the parquet and all the seats and banners etc still in there

i remember, my buddy jon got busted for stealing a brick from the site.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/TEE_LIQB/61350~Grateful-Dead-Boston-Garden-Posters.jpg

holy fuck, i just realized the last time i was actually in the garden was for a grateful dead show. i dated a hippy when i was 21.

http://i31.tinypic.com/33m8s2d.jpg

lol would totally be in the market for that dead shirt if it didnt have the fakeo distressed printing

btw deshawn stevensons look right now is up there w/the alltime sports style greats

lol hueg beard + mohawk a++++++++++++++++++

bonus points for rocking a vick jersey the other day

http://deadspin.com/assets/resources/2008/04/stevenson.jpg

owow is he doing the hova hand gesture in that gif lmao

yah u havent heard abt the deshawn + soulja boy v lebron +jay beef dude?

the wiz must advance here they just have to i my heart is set on it

bonus points for rocking a vick jersey the other day

according to cstb he wore a "I BELIEVE THE ROCKET" t-shirt to the shoot around yesterday.

hahaha professional villain <3 <3 <3 !!!

yah u havent heard abt the deshawn + soulja boy v lebron +jay beef dude?

course i have but i didn't know he was doing shit like that during the game

he's really more like a pro wrestler than a basketball player

god i hope they win this series

lebron throwing up a rocafella diamond gesture - the height of sycophancy

i love that caron stormed out of some club after they played the jay-z diss

He was going for another straw.

in a way im kind of rooting for the cavs because i love lbj but after reading that damon jones was talking shit in that club like he is the dennis rodman of this series or some shit im not so sure

i think damon jones is the most unlikable player in the nba come to think of it

ya he's a supreme tool

lol damon jones getting sharpshooter $$$ from the cavs after a season where he got 1mx open looks on the wade/shaq heat

fg% 01-08

.409
.401
.381
.401
.456<<<heat season
.387
.386
.416

Guess who (01-08):

.341
.385
.401
.432
.408
.406
.460
.461
.386

That's a two-hot-years-every-nine-years average.

ok i give who is it

The Wiz's answer to Damon Jones!

at least deshawn is funny though

o ha my first thought was you must be talking abt deshawn but then i was like theres no way that dudes been in the league for 8 years

he plays sik D too

o ha my first thought was you must be talking abt deshawn but then i was like theres no way that dudes been in the league for 8 years

-- jhøshea, Thursday, May 1, 2008 3:24 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

same

damon jones is the freddie mitchell of the nba. but you can't just cut players in the nba.

esp when he's the best shooter in the league! maybe ever!!

Hawks coach Mike Woodson was irate Wednesday that center Al Horford didn't at least share the NBA Rookie of the Year award with the Seattle SuperSonics' Kevin Durant.

"It's a travesty and it's not right," Woodson said Wednesday night before Atlanta's Game 5 loss to Boston, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He should have shared it, if not gotten it outright. And I don't want to hear about us not being on TV or anything like that. It doesn't matter. It's what this kid has done for this team.

ugh @ commentators shilling for new "very funny" tbs shows

im convinced that franktv only exists as commercials during basketball - theres no way that shits a real show

uhg @ Harlan calling SD's doo a "....SWEET fauxhawk" & saying Collins wd look good in one.

Also, jhoshea isn't watching because they haven't advertised for FrankTV since the baseball postseason.

naw ive seen franktv during these playoffs - but yah im not watching - this series what a snoooooozzzzzz

http://i.tbs.com/v5cache/TBS/Images/Static/billengvall/smallfamily_left.gif

^nba's franktv

FrankTV guy shilling for Dish Network != FrankTV

I will be a dick about this because I've put up w/ every permutation of the "DRAMA IS" promo and have developed & let die a crush of shame on both Engvall's daughter and Mrs. House of Payne & seeing FrankTV being VERY FUNNY would be a welcome respite.

i know what i sawr david r

I want my FrankTV :(

good buddy called w/ an extra ticket for tomorrow, am jazzin like a muscle spasm http://www.gerardbutlergals.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/goodjob.jpg

half-backtrack
doris burke + mike tirico: not as bad

HOLY SHIT!!!! GAME 7 HERE WE COME????

ahahah i wish you guys could hear how absolutely batshit insane steve holman (hawks radio pbp guy) is, everything is like "and the hawks send the SMUG BOSTON CELTICS HOME!!!!!!!" & "oh and the foul is on THE GREAT paul pierce!!!" [voice cracking with anger]

O_O

player you'd most wanna smoke down with

http://www.nba.com/media/hawks/HWK_Childress_800x600.jpg

HAHAHAHA JOE JOHNSONAF

ok that was ridic! and the celtics missing 2 three's and then 2 shots under the net, just throwin up garbage

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHASFKLALFKAHLFKASFLKHAFAS GHOLY SHITYHKLEWHT

well this is just some shit now isn't it

Fuck these horseshit refs -- let JJ push off 9 times out of 10 every time down the court, miss at least 3 travels, let the Hawks fist on every defensive play, and call ticky-tack garbage on the other end. Eat one dick and enjoy your payola.

</Heinsohn>

lol i'm too disappointed with the celtics performance to give a fuck about some ref conspiracy theory

refs deffo made some horseshit calls but they did in boston too so stfu

http://lioninoil.blogspot.com/2007/02/announcers-gone-wild-more-quality.html

OK, my last beef -- there were some garbage calls against Pierce (one super-clean block that at worst should've been a jumpball; that 6th foul on fucking ZAZA that should've been a playoff no-call), and if he's in for the final 6+ minutes, the Celts (hopefully) don't look like what folks thought the Hawks would look like.

But you're right, ade, biased butthurt aside. I think there was one play in Boston where Posey tackled a Hawk like he was a DB, and the ref let the play go. And whatever shit they're doing to Pierce in ATL, they seemed to be doing to JJ up north.

Joey Crawford needs to stop waxing his eyes when he's working on his head.

HOWEVER, if I see ZAZA's fucking cro-magnon foreheaded ass cheering like Tim Duncan after hitting a set-shot three while Josh Childress flashes his busted grill (which his $$$$ free agent contract coming up shd fix), I will lose more of my shit than I've already lost. And I was totally up in arms last night (obv).

Horseshit refs are integral to entire NBA playoff process.

i seem to remember another where garnett shouldered a dude to the ground, didn't get called on it and then seconds later drew a foul. the shittiness is def. there but i wouldn't say it was biased either way

yeah,the shittiness usually evens its self out in the end.

ATLANTA (AP) -- As streamers poured from the rafters at Philips Arena, Marvin Williams stood at center court with arms folded, looking defiant, even with a sore knee. Zaza Pachulia grabbed a microphone and summed up this improbable series.

"We're going to Game 7! Woooooooooo!" Pachulia screamed.

This cracked me up.

lmao, it's true, we dont know how to fucken act down here. they let down the streamers after all three of the home wins - you'd think the hawks just won the fucken championship or somethin~

whoa, I totally blocked out this series. The ghost of Lenny
Wilkens will guide you, cankles.

lolspurs hope u assholes get sweeped

whoa what happened to spurs - did not see game - lol tim duncans line

i have three important points to make

1. the refs absolutely gave the hawks that game - i wont even bother to explain - if you disagree fuck you

2. if the celtics lose tomorrow im quiting sports - im deleting my espn.com bookmarks and moving on - i cant deal w/this and the fucking superbowl its too much

3. i cant remember what my third point was

i dont like to nitpick but it's "fuck u if u disagree" my mans~

honestly, i won't mind too much if the celtics win tomorrow. i root for them ordinarily anyway. the main thing i want to get out of these playoffs, regardless of any other outcome, is for the spurs to EAT HUGE MOUNDS OF SHIT.

EAT IT!

the huge mounds of shit?

its called artistic license canky - and i am an artist ! (of sports related suffering)

anyway even if the c's do win today this series isnt raising anyones hopes for their success in the rest of the playoffs

although the rondo dribbling around and jacking up a contested 3 play shows promising signs of future effectiveness - i mean on paper thats an unstoppable play

ok but this pretty much makes up for everything ive had to endure http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nd5d3sa2x1s

JOSEPH JOHNSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

opted to watch this game alone at home instead of w/friends - posting to ilx staying mellow - in fact now that ive contemplated how awesome quiting sports forever will be im not so freaked out abt this game

heh dude i committed to watching this series by myself before it even began - i knew it would tear me up too much internally, this is a journey i must take alone~~~

man bibby looks like a geico caveman

yah bibby is an ugly ugly man - its funny i always assumed he was one of those dudes who shaved his head cause he was bald - then this year he has has and hes not nearly so grotesque

each of my local fellow celtics fans has a their own terrible tic that makes losing so much worse

pete: challenging basketball opinions, always wrong

jesse: compulsive superstitiousness ie dont say that youll jinx us dont wear that shirt etc blah blah blah

ben: actually doesnt do anything too bad tends to toke lai and fall asleep during games

j smith shook 1

jesus they need to get josh smith outta this game right now

urrr xpost~

this is all just a build-up to the 4th quarter magic to come

celtics have had big leads in every game right

yeah smith was on fire game 6 but now...

fuck i never should've turned this on. i was going to go out and do shit and now i'm stuck here

dude its a game 7 enjoy

ha guy sliding home from 2nd

rondo makes some serious dod shots damn

ok lebrons son is named BRYCE MAXIMUS lolololol

ty king james ty

aw lebrons wife is cutie

FUCK@

marvin took him out hard

MARVIN WILLIAMS IS A FUCKING PUNK LOL U WISH U WERE CHIRS PAUL BITCH

fuckin clotheslined him

wow thats really one of the worse fouls ive seen fucking body slam wtf

celtics fan should be ashamed of themselves for not throwing beers at dude on his way out

atlanta has 28 points 8:39 3rd quarter

haha he's already been suspended for the hawks' first game next season!

tbh that's the only awesome play MW has made in his entire damn fool-ass career

haha similar reaction, gotta admire the audacity of making a tackle in the open field lol wrong sport

eh i dont mind a hard foul but throwing a dude down when hes up in the air like that is kinda O_o

i mean if you did that on the playground you would get punched in yr face

in fact pj brown shouldve come off the bench and punched marvin williams in his face

celtics should spend the rest of the game just taking shot clock violations - lol hawks can u get to 66 points?

tuff-guy garnett waits until it's a 36 point game to take a shot

lol i have been waiting for pacillloloa to take and elbow to the jaw all series

it really was more dude not seeing him tho

o come on dude he laid his elbow and shoulder right into zaza (lolza), that was some flagrant ass shit

he leaned in to him but zaza didnt see him at all and ran right into it - tho it couldve been called flagrant cause obv lol intentional

i mean, i can't lie, zaza's a bitch, and so is marvin, and they play like bitches too, so idk what i'm gettin so worked up about. i wish nique would just fuckin suit up and lay down 40 on these fools~

the marv foul is so hilarious if you've had to watch him play for the past three years, cuz he shows zero heart or strength going to the rim, he NEVER finishes and suddenly dude is fuckin john lynch out there

dude the hawks played an amazing series srsly - theres a future there - obv need to get the ownership situation sorted

ahahaha, hawks have FIVE ASSISTS going into the fourth quarter

lol

lol theres a show called womens murder club where 4 chicks solve crimes?

ah ok nice game c's but my confidence is still shook down from the celtics have the best shot of winning the championship of any team in the nba to lol can we even beat this shitty cavs team

boozer and gasol should have biiig series here

phew amirite? am i??

can they beat the pistons?

michael cooper has cleveland in 6. the hawks series has set the science of prognostication back a couple years at least

last time i bet on the Hawks

since that was the first non-cable game of the c's series i've got to ask, how the fuck did that series go 7 games??!?

how the fuck did that series go 7 games??!?

Hawks + home crowd = Popeye + spinach

Also:

- 2:1 free throw differential for the Hawks (& hitting almost 90%)
- key dudes on the C's getting donged w/ foul trouble & stuck sitting during key stretches
- some dude on C's jacking shit shots
- Joe Johnson hitting ridiculous shots

Also also:

- foul on Rondo = flagrant ass bullshit
- foul on Zaza = perfectly clean pick; Salim hung his ass out to dry; ha ha ha ha

How much $$$ is Childress going to get this offseason?!?

haha kevin wtf u forget how to go to a bar?

but anyway the the c's had major lapses while hawks played out their minds in two games and the refs gave them 47 fouls shots in game 6

what a weirdo series despite it going 7 games the celtics hold a +12ppg margin

http://www.celticsblog.com/images/stories/articles/nonCs/jamesgang.jpg

preview of c's defensive scheme v cavs^^^

last time i bet on the Hawks

seconded. though for me it was the 10-1 money line. :(

lol@u

congratz to the celtics on winning their homes games, but they need to study up on being a 1 seed. all that barking and hollering on the bench. atl is a 37 win team!! act like you've been there before (even if you havent)

in other news, maybe the lakers are really that good? jazz slow bigs looked super slow vs. all the interior passing

so far kobe has seen ed najera and kyle korver on him in the playoffs. did harpring guard him too? i kinda zoned out.

i see the jazz stepping it up - theyre better than how they played yesterday - boozer/williams really should be having their way w/them

Am I the only person outside of Detroit who believes the Pistons can end this in 4?

haha kevin wtf u forget how to go to a bar?

-- jhøshea, Sunday, May 4, 2008 6:51 PM (Sunday, May 4, 2008 6:51 PM) Bookmark Link

i've instituted a no going out on school nights rule unless there's a show. i got sick of being hungover at work. friday night i had plans so i didn't see the game. i might make an exception for the rest of the playoffs though.

brewer was also guarding kobe, can't remember if harpring did too xxxpost

its huge for the lakers having pau catch everything and finish everything instead of kwame's constant fumbling out of bounds. popovich's rant was otm, it's ridiculous how they got him.

he's very close to tim duncan on offense, does several things better than td like cutesy interior passing (obv duncan is an all time great defender and pau's not)

yeah i saw brewer on kobe too. is kenyon martin (a power forward two years from DOUBLE microfracture) the best defender kobe's seen so far? yikes!

btw why does brewer have the green light on jumpers!? that j is super ugly, childress-esque

http://i25.tinypic.com/b4arfb.gif

^^ so awesome ^^

c's stat dude gets the freakonomics treatment.

i could seriously watch that all day.

most hilarious part: stodamire not calling out the pick and running by like nothing happened

old as hell but lmao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDB4hnFjJ-I

ha i didn't know danny ainge was in the mlb!

http://famousmormons.net/danny-ainge-2.jpg

he used it as leverage against red auerbach when red was trying to get him to sign.

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0505/nba_a_spurs_412.jpg

^scurred

brewer shoots 56% from the field! i'm fine w/ brewer shooting j's from 15-16, esp if they're wide open. harpring, on the other hand...

What is this crap? Letting that 3 stand is nonsense.

that stat is misleading. he shoots that percentage because most of his shots are in the paint, off of slashes to the rim and put-backs . have you even seen his jumper?

lakers will pretty much control the series.with a game 5 win at home to take it.

wishful thinking dude. that's the worst i've seen utah play recently. they're about due to expose the lakers defensive weakness (lakers have already exposed theirs, granted). series goes to 7 -- MINIMUM

it all comes down to the fact that Utah has NO answers for kobe. lakers defense can come up with just a couple of timely stops when they have to but they can score on the jazz at will because of NO answer for kobe.

Rashard Lewis = Game 2 LVP

Also why the hell has no one shivved the Detroit PA announcer?

lolol at lil honkey child wearing body paint "there's no such thing as magic"

this hornets/spurs game is incredible

EAT IT SPURS!

i'm not watching. what's going on? how in god's name are the spurs shooting 19% from 3?

good mins again from julian wright it looks like

xpost to carne
LOL i live in slc, i've seen just about every jazz game this year. ronnie gets most of his points inside, but he shot just fine this year from 15 out

15 out meaning that's his limit. ha

stojakovic keeps hittin those 3s

http://rr-bb.com/images/smilies/yeah.gif yay fuck u spurs! http://rr-bb.com/images/smilies/yeah.gif

craig sager is off his tits

lol spurs, it's about time to go away assholes

daring chris paul to juke you and daring peja to make 3's = keep it up this is bound to work

ugh, it's like they never played game 1, and fuck ginobili and his monk diming-ass head, those turnovers were just dumb as sin.

why in the hell was parker shooting so many goddamn threes, he's not 19 anymore, i thought he learned a long time ago that he's no good at them. just terrible guard play on both ends.

fuck vaughn fuck horry fuck droopy dawg duncan

http://rr-bb.com/images/smilies/yeah.gifhttp://rr-bb.com/images/smilies/yeah.gifhttp://rr-bb.com/images/smilies/yeah.gif

i need a gif of that hornet jumping thru the ring of fire

heh, heh, heh...

XD

ever since my gamegear nba jam te days i have called him...ROBERT HORRY-BLE

a nickname from teenage years only really topped by arvydas saboner imo

julian wright taking and making threes = god hates the spurs

aww i'm enjoying this too but horry is still my boy yall like kg with thethroat slash waiting till a nigga is elderly and shit. horry=everybody killa

chris paul is completely fucking unstoppable - what a terrifying little man!

That drive where he took the ball OVER Oberto's head and slid past Duncan to scoop it off the glass was awesome. Also awesome -- Duncan's noggin possibly brushing against Chandler's nuts after that alley-oop.

http://i25.tinypic.com/vpj828.jpg

lol

@David R. - yes to both of those, so glad i caught that second half

The Spurs series marks the first two games I've ever seen Paul play; I simply cannot believe how good and versatile dude is.

check out dis fukkin article guyz~

http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=319

http://i29.tinypic.com/2niqvqd.jpg

they're not going to be able to stop him. maybe slow him down a little bit. the best bet is to out score them and that's not he spurs game.

he=the

id v interested in paul v rondo finals match up - hes really the perfect defender for paul

Paul actually "only" shot 7-16 (around his season average) in Boston when the Celts beats NO by 20 (tho he still had 10 assists). The game in NO, when the Celts blew a 15ish-point lead, he was 6-10 & was waylaid by foul trouble (only played 29 minutes). West going 15-25 (!!!) more than made up for his lack of shots.

More interesting -- Rondo went off in both games, shooting a combined 18-25!

http://english.people.com.cn/200504/26/images/duncan1.jpg

^ photo taken after he read the defending chris paul article

defending paul well for one game is one thing, defending him well for a whole series is another.

insights^

sorry i couldn't match your rondo vs paul comment, hollinger

oops try harder

do you even know which comment I was replying to, or were you blinded by the bushes you pounced out of to make another really useful snarky "comment"?

^^^^ helping

sorry dudes its just you tend to show up and make these simultaneously inane and condescending comments - what you have forgotten to factor in is: its a whole series not just one game!

Perfect. From someone who thinks a guy averaging close to a trip dub sucks no less.

-- Granny Dainger, Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:04 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

haha do u still think the post raped by c paul jason kidd doesnt suk